


Part 1: First Impressions

by mantra4ia



Series: Bucky x Reader: Words are the Best Weapons [1]
Category: Bucky Barnes - Fandom, Cacw - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, post Captain America Civil War - Fandom
Genre: AU, Civil War (Marvel), Drama, F/M, Fanfic, Gen, Humor, Marvel 616 (Freeform), Series, Slow Burn, Subtext, imagine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-10
Updated: 2016-10-10
Packaged: 2018-08-16 01:25:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8081296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mantra4ia/pseuds/mantra4ia
Summary: Archetype: Bucky x Reader, featuring the Avengers (POV Reader)Snapshot: Tasked with the mission of rehabilitating Bucky Barnes, no one said it would be easy. But you owe Tony Stark a favor. And as Tony's 'favorite' (and only) therapist (that he can tolerate and vice versa) you could hardly say no. You've always appreciated a challenge, and maybe Bucky will finally be the challenge that makes you feel like you've done some good in the world.This is my original work. Please do not duplicate or reproduce.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Based in New York, post CACW. (some cannon references, some crossover, some nerd references from real life, present day)

[Background tempo music while you read (optional).](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ait-4080MxU&list=PLDv2zqOu8V600mt7T3pb_C5-qWuTYu0nM&index=67)

The gaping hole in your office partition did not trouble you as much as what came next. The size and damage was consistent, even expected of someone with the physicality of patient #384 when they threw a large leather chair through a glass wall. Actually this impromptu renovation went quite a long way toward opening up the space. No bother, it was in fact a breakthrough. The concerning part was the number of Avengers that proceeded to swarm your office in an effort to contain Bucky Barnes.

No fewer than Clint, Natasha, Sam, and Steve himself came barreling through the shattered glass pane. Only Wanda was sensible enough to wait until invited, and when you acknowledged her with a small nod and grin, she walked through the official doorway and proceeded to immobilize each of her colleagues with her power, save Bucky. Bucky was your assignment, and you would deal with him later.

“Would everyone who's not here to see me professionally please get the hell out of my office?” you said as you activated the magnetized panel in the floor, a gift courtesy of Pepper and personally installed by Tony Stark. It was an eyesore in a civilian office, but functional. Bucky, now free of his avenging colleagues, would have normally closed the gap between you in two strides and then you would have a fight on your hands. But for now the metal cuff locked to his god-given arm, pulled by the generated field, had brought him to his knees on the magnetic floor. There was no new prosthetic made for him yet, so the bond was not as secure as it could have been. But it was good enough for you to begin a tirade with Steve.

“He's dangerous!” Thanks for stating the obvious Captain.  
“Volatile, yes. Dangerous, not at the moment,” you reply coolly. “Danger is a product of environment.”  
“He could kill you!”  
“Not today.”  
“You've triggered the Soldier, haven't you?” Clint had decided to chime into the conversation.  
“Yes, I considered that as an occupational hazard when I invoked one of the words in his chain of compliance.”

“Back up a minute, you did what?” Sam could barely spit out the words past his scoff. "That wasn't part of our agreement with Tony."

"And for that very reason, Tony is not privy to my treatment methods. When he has letters behind his name, perhaps you can consult him and leave me out of it."

"But Bucky's here for your help. Rehabilitation. He's at your mercy, he's not your experiment," came a burst of less than composed protective instinct from Steve.

"You can't have it both ways Rogers." You began to check him with his own words and tone. "'Barnes is dangerous, he's a threat, I need to use caution.' _Except_ now it seems that I'm not far behind on the blacklist and Barnes needs to be shielded from _my_ barbarism. You had best make up your mind Captain. If I'm going to mentally reprogram him, he needs to start with a clean canvas.”

"I knew we should have consulted Banner first," Clint began under his breath.

"And where is the good doctor?" You cut off the simmering, simpering mutiny. Silence followed. Clint was quite correct. Even you would have consorted with Banner on a case this unique. But for the moment he was no where to be found.

Natasha was next in the processional to voice concerns “What you're saying sounds like a HYDRA mentality.” Ever-observant as a human watchtower looming darkly, her blunt remarks continued. "He's not a computer or a project." You enjoyed that brute honesty about her, but you also needed to back her down. This was your office, your field, your turn to speak.

“Easy Romanoff. You contracted me because I'm a neutral party aligned to no one, remember? Clinical, meticulous, detached.” You paused to weigh the next few words you were about to say, as you could feel yourself becoming heated on the subject. Despite the fact that you knew you were right, it wouldn't do to behave as if that would afford you everything that you wanted. That was a Tony Stark mentality, and you should know from the years of patient-client interaction. To get what you wanted, you needed to be cool and clinical in your explanation. You needed Bucky's friends to understand. “Mr. Barnes and I, _together_ , need to tread with a surgical scalpel and tear our the toxic weeds that have been allowed to grow savage in his mind at the expense of his memories and mental faculties. Anything less is a superficial solution, a waste of my time and his.”

“But we have a responsibility to keep him in check,” said the Captain.

“We took a risk defrosting him against his wishes.” It was Sam's reply this time.

“Not only that, but we need to make sure that the world believes he's still iced.” Clint made a valid point.

“So the Avengers team on-call in my office is inconspicuous and innocuous, is it? I have this red button on my desk, it says 'easy' not 'assemble!'” you said, as you could see Clint eyeing it, resisting a youthful urge to press it in a particularly tense moment. You were a bit fond of that idea yourself.

At this Wanda gave a small chuckle at the door. She had released her less apprehensive teammates who she sensed would take no further action against you, including Natasha. Her amusement broke you out of your confrontation with the team to observe something interesting. The conversation in the room had stilled the Winter Soldier. He still clearly wasn't himself, but there was a calculating manner of calm and reason as he assessed the situation, not only for information that could help him escape, but all aspects of his surroundings. Part Winter Solider, part 1940s allied soldier. You could work with this.

“Steve, please, let me do me job. I'm not a field agent, I'm not an asset, but I've gone through the training. We've established plans for crisis and containment. Should anything happen, the full weight of several organizations will come down on Bucky like the hammer of Thor. But obviously that's a last resort that neither of us wants. Believe it or not, all of you hovering here so closely makes it impossible to make the progress Bucky needs, especially if you come running at the first sign of trouble. It's a chair and a goddamn window. Some of my regular clientele have done worse. Take a walk, a run if you must. Collect Bucky in an hour. For all our sake.”

The trust in your capabilities was still thin at best, skeptical at worst. That was not the problem. They didn't know who you were or what you could accomplish, only that you had come highly recommended by Tony, as a condition of Bucky's release and rehabilitation without Iron Man's retaliation. But that gave you less ground to stand on where the Captain and team were concerned. Not more. You cast a pleading eye at Wanda, hoping that her empathetic insight would give you a leg to stand on. She smiled politely, and released Sam and Steve. The team began its processional exit reluctantly, this time through the office door.

If you allowed yourself to be optimistic, you thought perhaps the hard edges of Natasha were beginning to come around when she said “what do we owe you for the window?" To which you replied “a tall glass of something amber,” a response that seemed to sate her. Steve brought up the back of the group, and although he wasn't your assignment, you felt the pull of your profession wanting to offer him a bit of counseling too. You reached up for his shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze.

“We want the same thing Cap. We want to mend a broken soldier.”

“I just want my friend back.” That was the most honest that Steve had been with himself lately. He deserved a bit of honesty in return.

“I can't promise you your friend as he was before that war, I hope that's not what you're asking. But a friend you shall have.”

All in all a great beginning to your first therapy session with James Buchanan Barnes.

**Author's Note:**

> NEXT: Part 2- Bullets, then Cannonballs.


End file.
